Provincial Capital
San Jose
Local Language
Cebuano
Local Delicacy
Cassava
Dinagat Island Province is a province in the Philippines, located on the south side of Leyte Gulf. Leyte is to its west, across Surigao Strait, and Mindanao is to its south. Its main island, Dinagat, is about 60 km from north to south. Dinagat Islands had been a part of the First District of Surigao del Norte Province until becoming a province on its own on December 2, 2006 with the approval of Republic Act No. 9355, the Charter of the Province of Dinagat Islands, in a plebiscite.
On February 11, 2010 the Supreme Court of the Philippines declared the creation of Dinagat Islands Province null and void on grounds of failure to meet land area and population requirements for the creation of local government units. Dinagat Islands then reverted to Surigao del Norte Province. On March 30, 2011, however, the Supreme Court reversed its ruling from the previous year, and upheld the constitutionality of RA 9355 and the creation of Dinagat Islands as a province.
Dinagat Islands Province is composed of seven municipalities, including the provincial capital, San Jose. Its six other municipalities are Dinagat, Loreto, Cagdianao, Libjo (Albor), Basilisa (Rizal) and Tubajon. The Municipality of Dinagat, formally established in 1855, is the oldest community in the province.
